MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • Gurudutt will work closely with the COO Lavneesh Gupta in streamlining and structuring the Government business

    RBNL gets a new Sales head in Gurudutt

    By A Correspondent

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network has announced the appointment of Gurudutt Jakhmola as the National Sales Head – Government for its Television and Radio verticals.

     

    Bringing in his extensive experience, Gurudutt will work closely with the COO Lavneesh Gupta in streamlining and structuring the Government business. He will also be responsible in planning and optimizing the government business team for maximum efficacy, as he analyzes national and state government campaigns to be able to deliver optimally.

     

    With varied industry expertise, Gurudutt worked with telecommunications major – Hutchison Essar Limited for duration of five years before taking on the role of National Government Lead with American IT giant – Hewlett-Packard, where he led the function for over nine years. Having completed a Bachelors of Science in Bio-Medical, Gurudutt went on to pursue an MBA in Information Technology and Marketing from GGSIP Delhi University.

     

    Speaking of the appointment, Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network said, “With this appointment, we further strengthened our leadership team as part of our strategic growth objective. Gurudutt brings with him a multitude of skills which we believe will inculcate strong and robust mechanisms and processes for the team and also create synergy within teams to cross leverage the best practices. Above all, we are certain that it will help elevate customer experience with our brand for the government.”

     

    Speaking of his new role at Reliance Broadcast Network, Gurudutt stated, “I’m extremely delighted to be come on-board Reliance Broadcast Network. The vision that the team at RBN has for the company is what drew me closer to taking up this opportunity. I’m certain that with my experience I’ll be able to contribute to a greater success for the company and help take the businesses there to a newer level.”

     

  • It is ready with a full-fledged branding and mass communication campaign to further its penetration and recall in broader geographies and demographics

    ShopClues.com unveils new media campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    ShopClues.com has announced the launch of its end-to-end advertising and branding roadmap to gain higher recall in the Indian e-commerce segment. The brand has already carved a strong niche for itself in the Indian e-tailing space with over 65,000 merchants powering an extensive selection of 5.3 million products across 3000 listing categories. It is now ready with a full-fledged branding and mass communication campaign to further its penetration and recall in broader geographies and demographics. To achieve this objective, ShopClues.com has engaged partners across functions to lead its large-scale consumer engagement campaign.

     

    The e-commerce platform has partnered with agencies which have a history of creating memorable creative campaigns reflecting its vision of establishing itself as a preferred brand of the Indian masses. Enormous Brands, headed by advertising veteran, Ashish Khazanchi, has been appointed as its creative partner. The Public Relations mandate has been assigned to Value 360 Communications, headed by Kunal Kishore Sinha who has a tremendous track record of scaling up several start-up brands.

     

    Radhika Ghai Aggarwal, Co-Founder & CMO, said, “We observed early on that our country has millions of small merchants with interesting products and we Indians love to shop in local bazaars. This is the basic and defining essence of our product. At ShopClues, we’ve built properties like the Sunday Flea Market, Wholesale, Cash-Before-Delivery, Factory Outlet, keeping the orientation of our shoppers and their comfort zones in mind. We have an approach to merchandising which is unprecedented. Our build-up is focused on extensive unstructured products categories, offerings and unique cataloging.”

     

    Notably, ShopClues has spent less than US $10 million to reach the status of India’s 5th largest, while every other company in the top five list has spent an over ten times the amount.

     

    While ShopClues covers a broad range of products, prices, categories, brands, and sellers, it specialises in non-standard categories, unbranded products or less-known brands, smaller merchants, and tier II and tier III cities. In addition to strong traction and a very well-developed marketplace ecosystem, it also has an unmatchable cost advantage and rapidly improving fundamentals – the company is close to gross margin break-even and will be operating margin positive by March 2015.

     

  • Will be responsible for all the on-air programming elements on BIG Magic ensuring engaging comedy content for audiences

    BIG Magic appoints Uditanshu Mehta as CD

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIG Magic has announced the appointment of Uditanshu Mehta as Creative Director. Uditanshu who brings with him an extensive and impressive portfolio of work in the media and entertainment space will be responsible for all the on-air programming elements on BIG Magic ensuring engaging comedy content for audiences. In his position, Uditanshu will report to Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd.

     

    Backed with honors in Political Science from the Delhi University and a diploma in film making from FTII, Pune, Uditanshu comes with 16 rich years of diverse experience in the television and film industry which comprises of leading media and production houses, Miditech Pvt. Ltd., UTV and SAB TV. Leading the programming function as part of the core team at SAB TV, Uditanshu was instrumental in changing the channels positioning from an entertainment channel to a comedy channel.

     

    Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network spoke of Uditanshu Mehta’s appointment, “Uditanshu brings with him diverse experience and understands the pulse of audiences seeking comedy entertainment. We look forward to have him work closely with the team and lead the product to its next level of growth.”

     

    Speaking of his appointment, Uditanshu Mehta stated, “I’m looking forward to my new role. Nothing is more satisfying than to have audiences enjoy a television viewing experience layered with laughter. Am glad to come on board BIG Magic – the brand that allows me expression in the genre that I love best – comedy.”

     

  • The forum will be held on August 6 at 4 pm at the International Convention Hall, Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai

    IAA Young Turks Forum to host Mahesh Bhatt and Stuart Sender

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter, has invited Mahesh Bhatt, renowned film-maker and Stuart Sender, President, Balcony Films, Los Angeles, USA on Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 4pm to share their thoughts on ‘How Cinema influences Culture and Marketing’ and also interact with the audience as part of the IAA Young Turks Forum.

     

    HBO South Asia is Presenting Partner of the IAA Young Turks Forum. The event is being supported by the Bombay Stock Exchange.

     

    Mahesh Bhatt is a prominent film director, producer and screenwriter. His critically acclaimed movies include Arth, Saaransh, Janam, Naam, Sadak and Zakhm. He is also a columnist and is regularly featured in leading publications – both English & Hindi.

     

    Stuart Sender Film is a producer, director & writer and has been nominated twice at The Academy Awards. He has crafted stories of influential people, including Nelson Mandela, HRH the Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) and actor Matt Damon.

     

    Said Srinivasan K. Swamy, IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development Asia/Pacific region of IAA, “We are delighted to host Stuart Sender and Mahesh Bhatt, two master craftsmen who will enrich us with their experience in film-making and bring about the influence Cinema has on our lives and Marketing aspects of products and services”.

     

    Monica Tata, Managing Director, HBO South Asia, Presenting Partner of the IAA Young Turks Forum, said,  “HBO is known for its path breaking content, where creativity meets originality. We are delighted to be associated with this thought provoking exchange from which young leaders will learn and get inspired”.

     

    “The IAA Young Turks Forum is very excited to bring two legendary speakers from Hollywood and Bollywood who will teach the audience a few lessons from the world of Cinema and inspire them on how they could use creativity in their business and personal dealings,” added Manish Advani, Head, Marketing and Public Relations, Mahindra Special Services Group, and Chair of the IAA Young Turks Forum Series.

     

  • News18 India will be available to all viewers on the International base pack, English News pack and Hindi Mega pack

    News18 India announces entry into US market

    By A Correspondent

     

    TV18 Broadcast Limited has entered the US market with the launch of News18 India, a 24-hr television news channel designed to give global audiences a window into India. The channel went live on July 30th on Dishworld and Dish Network Channel 711. News18 India is already present in key South Asian diaspora markets that include the UK, Singapore, and the Middle East and is distributed by IndiaCast, a TV 18 & Viacom 18 company for monetizing its channels & content in India and Overseas.

     

    News18 India will be available to all viewers on the International base pack, English News pack and Hindi Mega pack, making it one of the most widely distributed Indian News channels in the US.

     

    News18 India is produced by the award-winning editorial team that runs TV18’s leading business and general news services in India that include CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18, CNBC TV18 Prime HD, IBN7, CNBC-Awaaz & CNBC Bajar. News18 India will serve as the destination for definitive news & views from India including in depth analysis, business news and local weather reports. Through a power packed delivery format including bulletins, feature shows, interviews and a rich graphic interface, News18 India will be a one-stop destination for all the latest from the subcontinent.

     

    News18 India is a unique news channel offering a dynamic and customized blend of business and general news programming at times that suit the US audience ensuring greater relevance for the viewers in the region. In addition to News18 India, IndiaCast distributes the flagship general entertainment channel ‘Colors’, its sibling ‘Rishtey’, MTV India International and 6 ETV branded services in overseas markets.

     

    Commenting on News18 India’s US foray, Avinash Kaul, CEO, IBN News Networks said, “It gives me immense pleasure to expand our global footprint and to take the best of Indian News to every household outside of India. News18 India is a destination for definitive news for the Indian diaspora, a community of high achievers seeking Indian news & for ethnic conglomerates with business interests in India. At a time when the world is watching India, News18 India will serve as the world’s window into India.”

     

    Gaurav Gandhi, Group COO India Cast said, “After UK, Singapore and the Middle East, News18 India now launches in the United States. We are confident that News18 India, with a customised offering for the US market, will fill the void of a comprehensive business & general news service from India. This would be our 7th channel on the Dish network and with them we found a perfect partner to bring this channel to all viewers who want a window into India”

     

  • As Flipkart and Amazon battle it out for control in the marketplace, it's customers who will profit most

    In ecom-land, it’s Bezos v/s Bansals

     

    By Radhika P Nair

     

    Deep discounts for customers and big incentives for merchants who sell on their marketplace are what Flipkart, India’s largest online retailer, is planning as it aims for fourfold growth in sales over the next 12 months.

     

    In the aftermath of the biggest round of fund-raising in India’s Internet industry, Flipkart and challenger Amazon plan to open more warehouses, hire in larger numbers and acquire companies with newer products or technology as they battle for supremacy in one of the fastest growing markets for online commerce globally

     

    “It is still day-one of Indian e-commerce,” said Amit Aggarwal, vice-president and India country head at Amazon. Last Wednesday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he will spend $2 billion (.`12,000 crore) to build operations in India without offering a timeframe. The announcement came a day after Flipkart declared funding of $1 billion from a host of global investors.

     

    Amazon’s announcement is being viewed as the strongest call for battle between the two protagonists.

     

    This month, Amazon will add a new category and also increase the range of books and electronics – its two main product lines in India — as it powers ahead to reach sales of Rs 6,000 crore this fiscal. In the past year, 8,500 sellers have hawked their wares on Amazon’s marketplace.

     

    Flipkart, which adopted a marketplace model last year, aims to increase the number of sellers to 50,000 in the next year from the current level of over 4,000.

     

    “China’s ecommerce industry reached its inflection point in 2005 when Alibaba raised $1 billion. We believe Indian ecommerce is at that inflection point right now,” said Sachin Bansal, Flipkart’s cofounder who expects a significant chunk of the latest funding to be used to enhance services for sellers. The Bangalore company runs six warehouses and intends to open 50 more in the next three years.

     

    Amazon is also increasing its warehouse count to ten with three new ones coming up in Maharashtra’s Bhadarpur, Haryana’s Manesar and Ghaziabad in the next few months.

     

    Experts said the focus of all this splurging will be dominated by one ultimate goal, attracting more customers. “Consumers will be wooed like never before. And it will not just be in the form of discounts; the two companies will unleash assortment and services that are specifically meant to retain them,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail advisory, Technopak.

     

    Merchants who do business with both companies said Amazon for now, is more focused on electronics and books. “This brings scale and helps them show customers that they can provide products at lower costs quickly,” said one person.

     

    This is exactly how Flipkart scaled up, by focusing on books initially and then on electronics. Now, fashion has become its most important category, especially after it acquired fashion portal Myntra in May, contributing to one-third of the company’s sales, said Mr Bansal.

     

    The Flipkart site will focus on fastselling fashion products that will bring in volumes, while Myntra will focus on the higher-value products and inhouse brands that deliver profits, said a senior official at Flipkart. Branded apparel can bring in margins of up to 35% while in-house apparel brands command profit margins of up to 60%.

     

    “We are here for the long term. Our aspiration is to make Flipkart a $100-billion company,” said Mr Bansal, 32, whose company clocked $1 billion in sales in March 2014.

     

    Amazon also aims to reach the milestone this fiscal. “The aim is to have a 30% market share soon,” said a senior executive at Amazon, who did not want to be identified.

     

    Flipkart also plans to get a bigger share of exclusive sales on its portal, as it did recently with Motorola phones. Last month, it started selling China’s Xiaomi phones while Amazon launched sales of a Samsung phone and Swipe’s Slice tablets exclusively.

     

    Flipkart is also actively scouting for companies to purchase. “We are looking across the board. We will acquire if we find interesting companies in wearable devices, fashion technology, mobile internet, and robotics and in other areas,” said Flipkart’s Mr Bansal.

     

    The companies are also setting aside money for hiring and for increments. “War on talent is yet to begin as both are targeting the FMCG and telecom industries,” said a consultant. Flipkart will double headcount to 26,000 this fiscal. Amazon too is expanding and pays two-year joining bonuses of over Rs 40 lakh at the top levels.

     

    “Many companies who scaled up much slower than these two have faltered before,” said Technopak’s Mr Singhal. “It is like making an entire army move in tandem. Who will get that right is what we need to see.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The former commercial head at Zee Entertainment and Colors has moved to Broadcast Audience Research Council as Chief Business Officer

    Romil Ramgarhia joins BARC as Chief Business Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has appointed Romil Ramgarhia as Chief Business Officer of the organisation. This is a move to strengthen its core management team as BARC moves closer to the launch of its services. In his new role, Mr Ramgarhia will report into BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta.

     

    In his last role, Mr Ramgarhia was Chief Commercial Officer at ZEEL. Before joining ZEEL, he was also associated with Viacom18, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and ACC, in different capacities. However, he has been associated with BARC for a while and was spotted at the announcement of Mediametrie as the technology partner.

     

    Said Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, ZEEL and chairman, BARC: “Romil has played a key role during his limited assignment at ZEEL. It is unfortunate that he has quit ZEEL however I am confident that his rich experience will bring greater value to BARC India. As he now moves on to a new challenge in a new role and domain, I wish him luck for his continued success.”

     

    Added Mr Dasgupta: “BARC India is moving closer to launch. Romil has an excellent background in broadcast, in telecom and in other industries. He was already associated with BARC India as part of its Commercial Committee and hence is well initiated in the processes. With his great business acumen, he will further strengthen the organization.”

     

    Talking about his appointment, Mr Ramgarhia said, “My assignment with ZEEL and Viacom18 has been one of my most challenging as well as gratifying periods of my professional career. It is great to be a part of a start-up which is  slated to be the biggest audience measurement system across the world.”

     

  • He will be responsible for focusing on scripted business opportunities and exploiting the non-scripted catalogue of Endemol in the four southern languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

    Ashok Vidyasagar joins Endemol as Senior VP

    By A Correspondent

     

    Endemol India has announced the appointment of Ashok Vidyasagar as Senior Vice President to lead operations of the entire South India Business including shows like Bigg Boss. He will be responsible for focusing on scripted business opportunities in addition to exploiting the non-scripted catalogue of Endemol in the four southern languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Based out of Chennai, Ashok will report into Abhishek Rege, Chief Operating Officer – Television, Endemol India.

     

    Prior to joining Endemol he was instrumental in setting up Big Synergy Media Ltd, South Operations as Business Director – South. “We have always been focused on building regional franchises of our global shows especially in the south. With Ashok leading the southern market, we hope to further expand and build more such ventures,” said Mr Rege.

     

  • CommonFloor.com strives to remove all fear associated with property decision making

    JWT unveils first campaign for CommonFloor.com

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading real estate portal has launched a new marketing campaign with the tagline – “No Darr. Find Ghar”. The campaign, executed by JWT, targets nervous newbies to help them overcome the fear of property related decision making. It drives home the key advantages of CommonFloor.com like exhaustive choices, accurate information, deep insights, easy-to-use tools and innovative technology. It also showcases how CommonFloor.com’s features like Verified Property Listings, Map Search, Direct Call to the Property Owners (available on mobile app) and even a Virtual Tour of the Property can empower every consumer.

     

    Sharing his views on the launch, Sumit Jain, Co-founder and CEO, CommonFloor.com, said “This is a major milestone in our journey. As a company we have come this far without a large scale marketing push, so I can only imagine how inspiring our growth trajectory will be with a campaign of this magnitude. This endeavour is the work of some of the brightest and most sought after talent in the industry. I am thus certain that this will take our organization to the next level.”

     

    Vinayak Warke, VP- Marketing, CommonFloor.com said “At CommonFloor.com, our focus has always been on empowering people to realize their property dreams. The objective of this campaign is to highlight the problems faced by property seekers and how CommonFloor.com addresses this through a fearless and informative experience, leading the user to an easy and effective property decision.”

     

    Sharing his thoughts on the strategy and creative idea of the campaign, Senthil Kumar, National Creative Director, JWT said” The Creative Idea of House Haunting versus House Hunting leaps straight from the consumer insight that finding a dream house can become a nightmare. We translated this insight literally in form of a very comic Eighties Indian Horror Movie flick narrative that makes the spot something you’ll surely watch out for. The TVC shows the crazy story of a couple who end up House Hunting in an unknown location with a ghost for a house owner. It then shows how the smart husband saves the day by using the CommonFloor mobile app. The execution is true to the Eighties Indian Horror Film style that will make every viewer laugh out loud. I am also sure that when it comes to House Hunting, it will make viewers remember India’s biggest and most trusted online real estate portal CommonFloor.com.”

     

  • Mindshare has entered into an exclusive partnership with Big Data firm Crayon Data to power its planning, insights and consultancy offering

    Mindshare partners Crayon Data to build on adaptive strengths

    By A Correspondent

     

    In what is being billed as a landmark move, Mindshare has entered into an exclusive partnership with Big Data firm Crayon Data to power its planning, insights and consultancy offering.

     

    Combining Mindshare’s proprietary data and research with Crayon Data’s data collection and analytical capability, means even greater adaptive solutions for marketers, providing an ability to not only identify different consumer profiles and segments, but to also target and track those profiles across a complex range of media channels, including social media and video.

     

    For Mindshare, this partnership continues their focus on developing leadership in Adaptive Marketing, a shift that is impacting how the agency thinks about services, products and ways of working.

     

    Said Sudipto Roy, Chief Client Officer APAC and Chairman of Mindshare’s Products, Partnerships & Services: “One of today’s key business challenges is the complexity surrounding the collection of data making traditional database processing and management tools ineffective in helping clients make optimal decisions about their customers’ needs. It’s a fundamental requirement of business success. Without the ability to support customer needs, organizations fail.”

     

    Suresh Shankar, Founding Director at Crayon Data, added: “Media, analytics and behaviour is all going digital, and choices are proliferating in every aspect of our life from media to daily decisions. The partnership seeks to marry Mindshare’s media data sets and expertise, and its innovations like Loop Room, with Crayon’s choice engines, algorithms, and Taste/Interest graphs. This partnership forms part of a big transformation and caters to our mission of turning the misery of choosing into the magic of choice.”

     

  • The tool will reduce the amount of errors helping clients to visualise their campaign better

    Prism Creative tool unveiled by Posterscope for APAC region

    By A Correspondent

     

    Posterscope has announced the launch of its new tool – Prism Creative across Asia Pacific this month. The tool, which helps clients gauge how their creative will look on OOH media, will reduce the amount of errors helping clients to visualise their campaign better.

     

    This tool, now available to Posterscope clients across the region, will visually show if an advert isn’t suitable for OOH media – with too much text, unsuitable colours or layout errors, and campaigns can be changed before they run. Prism Creative has the facility to switch from day to night visuals, play digital videos and do a distance check of creative.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Haresh Nayak, Regional Director Posterscope Asia Pacific said, “We have taken feedback and come up with a tool to bring creative optimization to clients. Simple, useful tools such as these are instrumental in growing our clients businesses as we grow our own and differentiating ourselves in market place so we have a stronger offering.”

     

  • The third edition of the global event will be held from September 22-26, 2014

    SMW 2014 to deliberate on Social Media for Social Change

    By A Correspondent

     

    The second edition of the Mumbai leg of Social Media Week (SMW) has been announced. The five-day event to be held from September 22-26, 2014 will bring together influencers, practitioners, academic thinkers and international experts, who will provide a blend of information and ideas through panel discussions, debates, workshops, and more. SMW 2014 is set to happen simultaneously in 12 cities- Berlin, Chicago, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Mumbai, Rome, Rotterdam, São Paulo, Sydney, and Toronto.

     

    SMW 2014 aims to reach new realms of connectivity and knowledge through social media platforms by creating an ecosystem for influencers, practitioner, brand managers, entrepreneurs, students and social communities. The theme for SMW Mumbai 2014 is Social media for Social Change, with multiple sessions through the week will explore the dynamic ways of how social media has become the greatest marketing tool to the loudest voice of the people. This international festival was founded in New York by Crowdcentric Media LLC and is hosted twice a year, in India, by R SQUARE Consulting, an integrated marketing services agency.

     

    “Dynamism in social media makes social media week really interesting. New technology, platform, insights, usage, there is so much to know hence social media week plays a very important role for the whole community and industry,” said, Rohit Varma, Founder and Managing Partner at R SQUARE Consulting.

     

    SMW’s unique format explores the social, cultural and economic impact of social media, and gives a platform to instil ideas and empower the social world. With a mission to help people and organizations connect through collaboration, learning and sharing of ideas, it garnered an overall reach of 19 million in Mumbai, last year.Globally, 27,000 people came together to be a part of this mega event which was held simultaneously in eight cities. With 1745 speakers and more than 1000 events, the festival reached out to 555 million people in 2013. This edition of SMW Mumbai to have 100+ events with a league of eminent speakers both national and international joining. Attendee registration will begin on August 20, 2014.

     

    SMW has partnered with the leading media and integrated communication agencies GroupM, OgilvyOne, Step Up (inspired by Genesis Burson-Marsteller), Germin8, Chlorophyll, Avid Learning, Page Traffic buzz, MxM India, TiE Mumbai, Construckt Festival and The Indian Networker together to organize the event in India.